1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an imaging apparatus of a compact and slim design in which an aspect ratio can be converted.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional imaging system, a technique of using an anamorphic converter to convert the aspect ratio of an imaging optical system is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Kokai No. Hei 6-82691.
The anamorphic converter described in this prior art article is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The anamorphic converter is constructed by combining cylindrical lenses G1, G2, and G3, each having optical power in only a horizontal or vertical direction of an image plane. By doing so, an effect of magnifying or demagnifying an image in only the horizontal or vertical direction of the image plane is brought about. The anamorphic converter is designed to be mountable and dismountable with respect to the imaging optical system, and thereby a photographer is capable of converting the aspect ratio of a photographing image.